Real Name: Gabriel Lan
Occupation: Former Starship captain, former herald of Galactus
Identity: Unknown to general populace of Earth
Legal Status: Citizen of Xandar
Former aliases: Nova Centurion
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White
Place of Birth: Xandar, planet in the Tranta system, Andromeda Galaxy
Place of death: Interstellar space between Sekar and Janstak systems, Milky Way Galaxy
GroupAffiliation: Former member of the Nova Corps
Powers: The original Air-Walker possessed the vast power cosmic that Galactus granted to
all of his heralds upon their initiation (see Firelord, Morg, Nova, Silver Surfer,Terrax).
His body resructured to be a living battery for cosmic energy, the Air-Walker could
utilize cosmic power for a variety of effects: heat, concussive force, magnetism,
electricity, ect. Unlike most of the other heralds, the Air-Walker utilized his cosmic
energy without an accompanying visible manifestation (such as Firelord's "cosmic
flame"). The Air-Walker could also use his energy to rearrange molecules, although he
never became adept at it as did the Silver Surfer. The cosmic energy augmented his
strength, endurance, and durability. At maximum exertion, the Air-Walker could match the
strength of the Thing. He could use his cosmic powers to peak capacity for several
Earth-months without resting before fatigue or the need to dream would begin to impair his
functions. His skin was treated to be immune to virtually all the conventional rigors of
space. It took a force greater than the cosmic force invested in him by Galactus to kill
him. The Air-Walker did not need to eat or breathe since he absorbed life-maintaining
cosmic energy through his cells.

The Air-Walker could fly through
space at hyper-light velocities. While moving through planetary atmospheres, he would
curtail his speed so as not to cause catastrophic side effects. The Air-Walker did not
employ such conveyances as the Silver Surfer's Surfboard or Firelord's batton in order to
travel; he apparently traveled and navigated by his own power.

The Air-Walker robot replicated all of the
original's powers to the approximate levels. It was endowed with automatic self-repair
circuitry in it's chest cavity, capable of functioning as long as 35% of the total system
was intact. The robot's power source was in its fiery cloak, apparently some form of
cosmic energy receptor.

PARAPHERNALIA

The Air-Walker used a golden trumpet-like
device to summon Galactus. Apparently the horn emitted some sort of hyper-spatial signal.
When the robot first appeared on Earth it was mistaken for the biblical archangel due to
its imposing appearance, its "horn", and the coincidence that the Air-Walker's
first name was also Gabriel.

HISTORY

Gabriel Lan was the captain of the
Xandarian explorer-ship Way-Opener, whose mission was to seek out and establish peaceful
relationships with neighboring alien civilizations. Lan had previously distinguished
himself in Xandar's military, The Nova Corps, and welcomed his appointment to an
explorer-ship since he was filled with wanderlust and love of open space. Returning from
his seven year tour of duty, Lan neared his home solar system when a spherical craft of an
unidentified nature approached. A teleport-beam took Lan from the bridge of the Way-Opener
and brought him aboard the spherical ship into the presence of the world-devourer
Galactus. Galactus announced that he was looking for a new herald to replace the defected
Silver Surfer, and having scanned Lan's mind, deemed him an appropriate candidate. Hearing
Galactus's offer of vast power and unlimited travel, Lan readily accepted and was
transformed by a tiny fraction of Galactus's cosmic might into the Air-Walker, second of
Galactus's great heralds.

Voluntarily putting all thought of his former life
behind, the Air-Walker served Galactus faithfully for years, seeking out new worlds to
suit his master's appetites. He came to befriend Galactus, and would pass long hours
listening to Galactus's tales of the wonders and mysteries of the universe. One day after
he had found a new world for Galactus to drain and was returning to Galactus's ship to
tell him of it, the Air-Walker saw a fleet of warships in battle formation approaching.
The ships contained members of the Ovoids, a highly advanced civilization, who feared
Galactus's presence so close to their star system. The Air-Walker launched an attack on
the Ovoid fleet and was struck down by Ovoidian weaponry designed to slay Galactus
himself! Because Galactus was weak from hunger, he was unable to retaliate with full force
and decided to retreat from that space sector. His power still at a low ebb, Galactus
could not afford to give up any of his personal energy to resuscitate the dying spark of
life in his faithful servant. However, once he had renewed himself, Galactus transferred
the consciousness of the herald who laid down his life for him to a perfect robotic
replica. Still, there was something intangible missing from the replica, a vitality, a
passion for the mysteries of space that Galactus had liked in the original Air-Walker.
Therefore, Galactus determined to dispatch the Air-Walker robot to Earth to reenlist his
original herald, the Silver Surfer. The Surfer declined Galactus's invitation, however,
and in battle with his new messenger,

destroyed the Air-Walker
robot. Galactus grimly abandoned both the Surfer and the defective Air-Walker robot.

The Air-Walker robot was taken into custody by the
robots of the

Machinesmith, who
sought to repair the robot but could not understand his alien circuitry. The Machinesmith
did manage to accidentally activate the Air-Walker's self-repair functions, however, and
after several months, the Air-Walker regained its artificial consciousness. Seeking a
rematch with The Silver Surfer, the Air-Walker instead attracted the attention of the
thunder god Thor. Thor damaged the robot in battle, apparently destroying its self-repair
circuitry. The Air-Walker's remains were taken into custody by Galactus's third herald,
Firelord, a colleague and friend of Gabriel Lan, the original Air-Walker. Firelord buried
the robot's remains on an asteroid
in the Tranta system near Xandar, with a cosmic flame marking his grave.

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